Burrowing Owl Puppet
The Burrowing Owl Puppet was created by Toni Mikulka-Chang to bring attention to the burrowing owl, a species increasingly threatened by habitat loss and urban development. Unlike many owls, burrowing owls live on the ground in open grasslands, making them especially vulnerable as wild spaces are replaced by roads, housing, and industrial development.
This puppet was created specifically for the City of Mountain View’s 40th Anniversary of Shoreline Park’s restoration and nature preserve, a site where burrowing owls continue to live and thrive. The project celebrated the long-term protection of this vital habitat while also reminding audiences of how fragile such successes can be.
Materials & Construction
The Burrowing Owl Puppet combines lightweight natural materials with fine textile work:
Head: Sculpted from reed
Body: Made from silk
Structure: Lightweight internal supports designed for performance and procession
The materials were chosen to keep the puppet light, expressive, and well-suited for outdoor performance and educational events.
Scale, Movement & Performance
The Burrowing Owl Puppet is designed to be animated in parades, nature walks, and public performances, where it can move through space at human scale and interact closely with audiences.
(Exact size and puppeteering method can be added here if you want to include them.)
Purpose & Ongoing Life
The Burrowing Owl Puppet was created as a public education and awareness piece, using beauty and storytelling to help people connect emotionally with a species that is often overlooked and increasingly at risk.
As part of ArtJoy’s Giant Puppets Save the World collection, the Burrowing Owl continues to serve as an ambassador for habitat protection, reminding communities that conservation is not abstract—it is local, specific, and deeply connected to the places we live.
